Girls Renewed for Season 4, Bosses Defend Series' Nudity

For some viewers, Girls is just a bit too revealing. At the Television Critics Association winter TV previews Thursday, panelists for the controversial HBO dramedy, which was also renewed for a fourth season, were surprised by one critic's question. ...

Comment

By TV Guide

Journal Star

By TV Guide

Posted Jan. 9, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 9, 2014 at 9:58 PM

By TV Guide

Posted Jan. 9, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 9, 2014 at 9:58 PM

For some viewers, Girls is just a bit too revealing. At the Television Critics Association winter TV previews Thursday, panelists for the controversial HBO dramedy, which was also renewed for a fourth season, were surprised by one critic's question. "I don't get the purpose of all the nudity on the show, by you [Lena Dunham] particularly," he said. "I feel like I'm walking into a trap where you go, 'Nobody complains about the nudity on Game of Thrones.' But I get why they're doing it. They're doing it to be salacious and titillate people. And your character is often naked just at random times for no reason." PHOTOS: Everybody's posing nude!Creator and star Dunham answered, "It's because it's a realistic expression of what it's like to be alive, I think. And I totally get it if you're not into me. That's your problem." And that was that. Except that it wasn't. Separately, fellow panelists and executive producers personally tore into the critic, offended by his line of questioning. At one point, Judd Apatow asked, "Do you have a girlfriend? Does she like you?" and then implied that said girlfriend would also be upset. Jenni Konner admitted that she was still in such a "rage spiral" that she wasn't paying attention to following questions. This became a gateway to a whole line of questioning that made it clear many of the gathered critics just didn't understand Girls' appeal -- from the characters' morally ambiguous actions to their fluid definition of friendship. Although Dunham points out that antiheroes like Breaking Bad's protagonist are well-liked, Apatow points out the viewers enjoy Walter White (Bryan Cranston) because they're removed from him, and "don't sell meth in the desert." Whereas with Girls, it's realistic enough to make people uncomfortable. "It's hard to watch because people relate to it in some way," he said. Do you think Girls has too much nudity? Do you relate to its characters?Girls returns for its third season with two back-to-back episodes on Sunday at 10/9c on HBO.